I'd been waiting for last night's episode of No Reservations ever since I heard that Bourdain was in town a few months ago. I have to say that I was a little disappointed by it but here's Bourdain's take on the episode, which he posted on his blog, which I completely agree with:

"I think that troubled cities often tragically misinterpret what's coolest about themselves. They scramble for cure-alls, something that will 'attract business', always one convention center, one pedestrian mall or restaurant district away from revival. They miss their biggest, best and probably most marketable asset: their unique and slightly off-center character. Few people go to New Orleans because it's a 'normal' city -- or a 'perfect' or 'safe' one. They go because it's crazy, borderline dysfunctional, permissive, shabby, alcoholic and bat shit crazy -- and because it looks like nowhere else. Cleveland is one of my favorite cities. I don'…

Ever since I'd heard of DC Comics plan for their new Wednesday Comics anthology series, I've been increasingly curious as to how it would turn out. I like to see this sort of experimentation and innovation, especially in publishing.

I had a lot of pre-conceptions. I didn't realize how big it would fold out to. I was skeptical of the newsprint. I wasn't sure how the pacing would work. And I just didn't appreciate how much the artists would take advantage of the oversized format.

Wow! The result is that I am totally addicted to Wednesday Comics.

The format of Wednesday Comics is as much part of the point as the hyper-serialized stories (more story than a traditional weekly newspaper strip, but less than a monthly comic), and the weekly schedule smartly keeps you interested.

I have heard people complain about the newsprint, that it is a "disposable" format. An…

Keeping track of new magazines (etc.) that we get in which talk about Baltimore stuff. For more on, by, or about Baltimore-area artists, check out the following issues below.

Under The Radar #27Wye Oak - The Knot (7 out of 10 Stars)"...Wye Oak has taken a more aggressive stance throughout the album, not merely in the production choices. ... The Knot displays the a band more confident of itself and its powers." -Jim Scott

Double Dagger - More (7 out of 10 Stars)"For only being three guys playing two instruments, Baltimore's Double Dagger can sure make a lot of racket. Although all three members happen to be art school students, More (their sophomore release) skips sonic experimentation for a sound that wouldn't feel out of place with some of D.C.'s best hardcore." -David C. Obenour(corrections - More is Double Dagger's 3rd record (1. self-titled, 2. Ragged Rubble 3. More, not their sophomore release. They are not art school students. Bruce and Nolen ma…

A cult classic comic in collected form! If you remember the old, short-lived Saturday morning cartoon of the same name, or the even shorter-lived live-action sitcom of the same name, you'll love this. The publisher (New England Comics) has been releasing Tick collections, and they're all fun, but if you can only have one, this is the one to have - by Ben Edlund, the creator himself.

Much darker and funnier than anything you've seen on TV, it's framed in almost a sort of One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest narrative at the beginning that makes you suspect that while you follow the Tick on all his misadventures, fighting Ninja, saving The City, well, he may just be in a mental ward lock up someplace and we're just seeing his crazed fantasies.

Author of the NY Times bestseller Crooked Little Vein delivers this graphic novel dealing with relatively disturbing ideas. Let's say you are a superhero who truly believes in truth, justice and the American Way. And let's say the President of the United States indulges in torture and illegal wars and gives no-bid contracts to mercenaries who are more interested in enforcing the terms of those contracts than protecting the US Constitution? And when faced with the truth of the situation the American public does nothing about it. What do you do?

Well, in Black Summer, the hero kills the President and insists Americans have another election. As predicted, all kinds of craziness breaks out. His old team comes out of retirement, a new secret team of heroes that are government operatives is activated, and caught in between all his is our military and us.

Harvey Kurtzman is one of the most important and overlooked comedic influences of the 20th century. He started as the editor-in-chief of a rowdy little magazine called MAD (from 1952-1956). Everyone from Sid Caesar to Mel Brooks to Mort Sahl to Monty Python count him as an influence.

After the initial success of MAD, Kurtzman and some of his key artists were stolen away by Hugh Hefner and Playboy to create a modern, adult satire magazine called Trump (also soon to be collected and published). The problem was they were given too much autonomy: their own offices, an unlimited budget, no deadlines - Hef finally had to pull the plug on Trump after only two issues. But feeling guilty about it, he let the gang keep using the offices. The result was Humbug - one of the earliest comic collectives/creator own endeavors.

Lasting only 11 issues, Humbug might be arguably some of the best illustrated work of Kurtzman's c…